Your Quick Guide to Beer Glasses

Which beer to drink out of mugs, stanges, tulips, goblets, and other beer-specific glassware

BY Scott Simone

Published: 09/13/2013

The vast majority of you probably don’t even realize you’ve been doing beer wrong this whole time. Whether you’re a self-ascribed “beer geek” (note: never refer to yourself as a beer geek, ever) or someone who drinks beer once in a blue moon, the correct glassware matters. “Glassware can really enhance certain characteristics of beer that improve the overall drinking experience,” says Scott Vaccaro, owner and brewer of Captain Lawrence Brewing Company. “Color, aroma, head retention, and a number of other factors are all affected—finding the perfect glass for a certain beer can take it to the next level.”

“A glass made for a certain style of beer is designed to showcase some aspect of that style,” he continues. “The tall, slender shape of a pilsner glass is designed to highlight the light color and carbonation of the beer. Snifters, on the other hand, are designed to trap aroma in the glass and force it up to your face as you take a sip. Size is also a factor—you wouldn't necessarily want to drink an entire pint of a heavy imperial stout with a high ABV.”

So you’re going to need to throw out those silly, novelty mugs you have frosting in your freezer. Here, we give you the beer glasses you really need, and the brews you should be drinking out of them.